Your daily habits set the foundation for success, not only for your health but also for your finances. Mastering financial success doesn’t always take a lot of time, but it does take consistency. You can stay on top of your personal finances by developing some simple daily habits. With that in mind, here are some financially smart ways to begin your day:
Check Your Finances
Take just a couple of minutes when you get up each morning to review your finances. Make sure to look at your account balances, your recent transactions, and review your financial goals. If you don’t check your finances regularly, it leaves you open to small problems that could become much larger before you even know about them. By doing a quick check each morning before you start your day, you get a good sense of what kind of financial decisions you need to make throughout the day.
Track Your Spending
Along with taking a high-level look at all your accounts each day, make sure to track any new charges. You can easily do this with a spreadsheet or even an app. Find a tool that works for you so you’ll stick with it. When you track, you want to make sure that you take note of not only all the cash that is going out, but also what is coming in. This is the only way to find out how much money you’re really spending, from that morning cup of coffee you buy on the way to work to your mortgage and car payment.
Take a Look at Your Short-Term Investments
It’s always important to start each day by taking a look at your short-term investments, such as your swing trades. Swing trading is a good way to get started in trading and one of the best styles for beginners. It offers significant potential for profit, and since you get feedback on your trades after just a few days, it’s easy to stay motivated. Just make sure to take a few minutes each morning to check on these investments.
Read a Personal Finance Article
Whether it’s over your morning coffee or while you ride the train to work, take a few minutes each morning to read a finance article. It can be a new swing trading tip or strategy or a more general financial article. You can also use this time to read about current trends or learn about new stocks that you might want to buy.
Set a Financial Goal for the Day
Before you start the day, set a financial goal or intention. Depending on the day, it can be something small, such as bringing lunch from home to save money, or something more significant, such as getting a few bills paid. Set the daily goal after you’ve looked at your finances and spending, and then think about what you can do that day to help you get closer to your overall financial goals.
By starting your day on the right financial foot with these daily tasks, you’ll always be sure to hit the ground running with a head start.
Photo Credit: reynermedia
Love this article. Thanks for posting this Len.
I definitely check my everyday bank account daily, especially on Tuesday mornings. Most but not all payday withdrawals to Vanguard/Etrade show up that day. Gives me a better idea what else I can save vs spend until the next paycheck.
I still have the “Depression”, paycheck to paycheck mind set, even though i’ve got $40k in retirement savings and $6k in efund/house savings. I track my net worth at the end of each month, but it hasn’t helped the mindset.